Clothes-was her



IINTTnD STATES, y

PATENT @Trina LEONARD B. BROOKS, OF INDEPENDENCE, IOVA.

CLOTH las-WAS H ER'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,120, dated August 30, 189B. Application {ilecl August 11, 1897. Serial No. 647,881. `(No model.)

To `of/ZZ whom, t may concern:

Beit known that I, LEONARD B. BROOKS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Independence, in the county of Buchanan and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Clothes-Washer, of which the following vis a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in clothes-washers of that class which arey termed clothes-pounders, from the fact that the device is Operated in a manner to pound the clothes in an Ordinary washtub, and it relates to improvements more particularly in pounders in which air is forced into the clothes on the strokes of the pounden The object of the present invention is to provide an improved pounder 'of simple construction which may be operated with ease and in a manner to thoroughly cleanse the fabrics with a minimum oflabor. l

In my improved clothes-pounder the parts are especially constructed and arranged to overcome in a great measure the suction which takes place between the implement and the wet fabrics immersed in the sudswater ofthe tub, as well as to force air into the clothes or fabrics and to turn the same over and over on the successive strokes ofthe pounder, thusexposing all parts of the fabrics to the action of the pounder and facili` tating the thorough cleansing thereof,`as Well as saving thelabor lof turning the fabrics by hand.

With these endsin view my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

To enable others to understand my invention, I have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure I is a perspective view of my improved clothes pounder or washer. Fig. 2 is an inverted or bottom plan View thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the plane indicated by the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Like numerals of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures ofthe drawlzl/Iy improved clothes-pounder consists of a conical shell l, a vertical central air-tube 2,

a dished diaphragm 3, a series of radial ribs or wings 4, and a series of hoods 5, the detailed construction of which I will now proceed to describe.

The conical shell l has an opening in its apex for the passage therethrough of the verticalAair-tube 2, and the lower edge of this shell l is formed or provided with a bead 6,

which reinforces the edge of said shell where it is subjected to wear. At an intermediate point of its length this shell is provided with an annular protruding bead 7, which constitutes a seat for the dished diaphragm 3. This concavO-convex imperforate diaphragm 3 has its edge seated and secured in the bead 7, and Y said diaphragm extends below its seat in the shell, so as topresent a substantially convex surface to the clothes or fabrics. This diaphragm'has a central hole for the passage of the air-tube 2,`and said tube is thus arranged to project at its lower end through the diaphragm and at its upper end through the apex of the conical shell l.` This air-tube is of large diameter to provide for the free passage of air through the same 'and to enable the water which enters the lower open end thereof when the pounder is forceddown to readily escapel lower protruding end of the air-tube termi? nates on a line above the lower edge of the shell about one-half of an inch, more or less, and this' is important in the practical operation of the pounder,because itprevents splashing when the pounder is forcibly impelled in a downward direction.

The protruding end of the central tube and the loweredge of the conical shell are reinforced by the radial wings 4c, and these wings also provide working edges to act O11 the fab# rics and to reinforce or strengthen the diaphragm at numerous points between the tube and the shell. These radial wings,which are IOO substantially triangular, have their edges shaped to conform to the convex working face of the diaphragm and to the inclination of the shell, and said wings are secured'or attached to the said elements by soldering them thereto or by uniting the parts in any other suitable manner. rlhe lower working edges of the radial wings are inclined downwardly and outwardly from the lower edge of the central tube to the edge of the shell, and said edges of the wings are ush with the end of the tube and the edge of the shell to obviate any projecting surfaces to injure the fabrics and at the same time present working edges to assist in pounding the clothes.

The shell, tube, and diaphragm are all united together by sealed joints to provide an inclosed or dead air chamber l0 in the pounder. This chamber imparts buoyancy to the pounder and enables it when thrust down and immersed in the water to rise or ascend by its buoyancy, whereby the buoyancy of the pounder tends to lighten the labor required in the upstroke of the implement.

The upper protruding end of the air-tube above the shell and provided with the air-inlet openings is reinforced and strengthened by the employment of the hoods 5, one of which is employed to inclose each of the airinlet openings in a manner to exclude water from the tube and to provide for the free ingress of the air. Each hood is a bent piece of sheet metal arranged in an inclined position with relation to the protruding end of the air-tube `and to the face of the conical shell, and the hood, which is substantially semicylindrical, has its edges attached to the tube and shell in any suitable way-as, for instance, by soldering or riveting. The upper end of the hood is attached to the tube above the air-inlet opening therein, so as to close the hood above said opening; but the lower end of the hood is open to enable the air to pass freely through the hood, thence to the inlet-opening in the tube, and thence through the tube to the fabrics. The series of hoods for the series of inlet-openings are grouped 0r arranged about the tube and the shell, and these hoods thus serve the twofold purpose of excluding water or preventing it from splashing into the inlet-openings and as braces for the shell and tube where they are joined together. The upper end of the tube 2 constitutes a socket for the staff or handle 1l, which is fitted in the open end of the tube to terminate above the air-inlet openings therein, said braces also serving to stiffen the tube about where the staff is attached to the pounder.

One of the important features of my invention consists in the employment of the dished diaphragm, so as to have its working surface convex and slope from the center of the pounder upwardly toward the conical shell. By presenting the convex working surface of the dished diaphragm to the fabrics it acts as a cushion to the air and water, throwing awave of water from the center with rebounding force to the outside of the pounder, which operates to turn the fabrics rapidly and gives the implementa chance to operate on all portions of the garments or fabrics, and also obviates the necessity of turning the fabrics by hand. This form of the diaphragm also forms an approximately egg-shaped bottom to the dead-air chamber, which is of advantage in the operation of the machine, as it requires less power or force.

By having the air-tube of large and uniform diameter throughout its length the water is free to fall out of the tube when the pounder is lifted, and as the machine is quite buoyant and is practically free from suction owing to the ingress of air freely to the tube the pounder can be lifted with comparative ease.

The lower extremity of the air-tube terminating above the lower open end of the shell is of importance not only in preventing splashing, but because it obviates the necessity of lifting the implement entirely out of the water in order to permit the air to pass from the tube into the shell of the pounder on the upstroke thereof. It will be observed that the pounder need not be raised entirely out of the water, but that it may be lifted sufficiently for the lower end of the air-tube to be above the water-level, in which event the air passes freely from the tube to the shell beneath the diaphragm, thus supplying the chamber again with air to be forced through the clothes on the next downstroke of the pounder.

It is thought that the operation and the advantages of my improved pounder will be readily understood and appreciated from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings.

Various changes in the form and proportion of parts maybe made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages of my invention.

While I have shown a solid handle in the drawings, I would have it understood that I do not strictly limit myself thereto, because I am aware that ahollow handle may be used, if desired.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- A clothes-pounder comprising the conical shell, the imperforate concavo-convex diaphragm 3, arranged within the shell at a point between the top and bottom thereof to form an upper dead air space for floating the pounder and presenting a lower convex face, the air-inlet tube 2 extending centrally into the shell and through the diaphragm and terminating short of the base of the shell at a point between the lower edge of the same and the diaphragm and provided at its top, above the shell, with openings, the substantially triangular radial plates 4 secured within the shell and presenting curved upper edges to IOO IIO

ro olination over the openingsof the latter and being open at their lower ends, substantially Y as described.

In testimony that I claim vthe foregoing as my oWn I have hereto aflixed' my signature in the presence of tWo Witnesses.

LEONARD B. BROOKS.

` Witnesses:

J. D. RUSSELL, WILLIAM A. ROGERS. 

